violinist and from 1936 the conductor of a renowned Russian jazz ensemble, the State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR. His wife Natalia Shpiller (1909–1995) was a soprano soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre for over 30 years. She was a favourite of Joseph Stalin and often sang at the Kremlin. She taught at the Gnessin Institute 1950–1995. Awards and honors Order of the Red Banner of Labour (December 28, 1946) Stalin Prize, 3rd class (1950) Medal "For Labour Valour" (July 9, 1954) Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1956) Recordings Sviatoslav Knushevitsky's many recordings include: Beethoven: Triple Concerto in C; Oborin, Oistrakh, Knushevitsky, with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent Beethoven: Archduke Trio Borodin: String Sextet in D minor Brahms: Double Concerto, with Oistrakh and the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Karl Eliasberg Chopin: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 8 Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4, Dumky Trio, Op. 90 and Trio in F minor, Op. 65 Khachaturian: Cello Concerto in E minor (the premiere performance; and a later one conducted by Alexander Gauk) Myaskovsky: Cello Sonata No. 1 in D, Op. 12 Popper: Cello Concerto in C Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Trio in C (1897, incomplete; completed 1939 by Maximilian Steinberg; world premiere recording) Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 Schubert: Octet in F major, D. 803 Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Schumann: Piano Trio No. 2 in F, Op. 80 Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15 Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 (conducted by Alexander Gauk) Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50 Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70, with Elizabeth Gilels (violin), Rudolf Barshai and Genrikh Talalyan (violas), and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello). References Sources Presto Classical 1908 births 1963 deaths 20th-century cellists 20th-century classical musicians People from Petrovsk Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory Moscow Conservatory alumni Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian classical cellists Russian music educators Soviet classical cellists Soviet music educators Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery